Many materials are provided to users in a large volume contained in containers and the user is compelled to dispense a certain amount of the material from the container. As a typical example of said situation, it can be cited a liquid, such as a detergent for washing a load of clothes in a washing machine or for washing a load of dishes in a dishwasher, which liquid is presented to the users in a container that holds a substantial volume of the liquid. The user is thus compelled to dispense a certain reasonably precise amount of said liquid from the container to wash a load of clothes or dishes. Dispensing of the liquid from the container can be accomplished in various ways.
In one way, the user can first unscrew the container sealing cap and pour the liquid from the container into a measuring cup or spoon to obtain the desired amount. The liquid is then transferred from the cup or spoon to the clothes washing machine or dishwasher. The user then screws the cap back onto the container.
In another way, the sealing cap itself serves as a measuring instrument by being constructed to hold the desired amount of liquid. In this case, the user unscrews the cap from the container, dispenses the liquid into the cap, transfers the liquid from the cap to the machine and, finally, screws the cap back onto the container.
While the ways of transferring material from the container into the washing machine or other place of use for the material are reasonably easy to accomplish, they can give rise to several annoyances. For example, the user might over fill the measuring cup or spoon or even the cap itself when it serves as the measuring instrument. This not only causes a waste of material, but the user will have to clean up the over fill amount. Also, material can be unduly spilled as it is being transferred from the measuring cup or spoon or from the adequately dimensioned cap to the place of use. Further, there is always the risk that a container with the cap removed accidentally will be pushed off from its resting position, allowing the material to be spilled out from the container. This wastes the material and also presents a disagreeable clean up problem.
Accordingly, a need exists for an arrangement by which a measured amount of material in a container can be transferred directly from the container to a place of use, such as a dishwasher or clothes washing machine, without having to remove the cap from the container.